


Earning Trust

by virberos



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Bedtime Stories, Dadgil Week 2020, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Feelings, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, Soul-Searching, Stories as Metaphors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24892807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virberos/pseuds/virberos
Summary: Vergil tries to earn the trust of Cordelia, a spirit from Cassandra’s past. Key word being try. But he does get help from Dante and Nero.
Kudos: 16





	Earning Trust

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FuryEclipse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuryEclipse/gifts).



The idea of a ‘spirit child’ around Cassandra was...confusing, to say the least. He knew of his human heart and demonic blood, both had once warred for control, now slumbering in contentment. But Cassandra was different, with no such division in her (as far as he knew). 

“So got it, Verge?” Dante asked, leaning forward expectantly. Vergil glanced to his brother, his insufferable twin.

“I believe so. Cordelia, from what I understand, has lived dormant inside Cassandra until very recently. When Cassandra took my nightmares as her own-” He still hated that she did that. Not her for what she did, but rather that she took on his own trauma to strengthen herself. He never wanted to burden her with his dark thoughts, the days he prayed he could forget. “Cordelia made herself known with the golem Nightmare. Since then, Cordelia has made herself home here.” He looked up to Dante. “Am I missing anything?”

“Only that she’s scared of you.” A given, he understood perfectly why she feared him. What was still good about him, worth fighting for? It was something he still didn’t understand from his brother, much less the son he just found out existed. “We’ll work on that, starting with your demonic aura.”

“My...aura?” 

“Yeah. All of us radiate it. You don’t realize it?” Dante asked.

“I never paid attention to it.” Vergil admitted. It wasn’t incorrect. A demon’s aura was a warning to others to leave them alone, lest they had a death wish for them to fulfill. He had no reason to pay attention before.

“Well, now you have to, because she won’t go anywhere near you if you keep radiating that aura of yours. It’s overpowering.” Vergil looked away from Dante, thinking about it. It was true, he only saw one glimpse of her after his return, and she ran away immediately when she noticed he noticed her. And then he felt a very familiar heat near him, the simmering flame of Dante’s devil heart. It was a miracle Cassandra was nearby so that the building didn’t erupt with the wrath of two brawling devils. 

“The aura is manageable enough, now that I am aware of it.” Vergil said, closing his eyes. “But that is a step. If Cordelia has been with Cassandra all her life, then she has seen…” He trailed off, not daring to say the name he had given to his hunger for power that had once run unchecked: Urizen. 

“You at your worst? Yep.” Dante rolled his shoulders. “You got a lot to work with if you want her trust.” Vergil opened his eyes, seeing his brother lean forward. He swore, for a brief moment, his brother’s eyes flashed red. “Don’t. Fuck. It. Up.”

“Of course. I’ve had enough mistakes to last me a lifetime.”

* * *

The shores of Fortuna always held a sort of calming quality, Vergil mused. Long ago, he remembered walking along these very shores with a woman whose face he could not remember, another loss from the fracturing of memories, ripped away from him to be the perfect puppet to a black-hearted demon prince. 

He hated it. Just as much as he hated losing those precious memories. He could never regale them to the curious Nero, who wanted to know who bore him in the first place (and never seemed to quite buy a ‘I can’t remember’ from him). All he could say about her was her fondness of red robes and dark brown hair, peering out from under the hood she once wore. 

Speaking of Nero, his son was walking along with him, watching the setting sun. A quiet had settled between father and son, a reprieve from the harsh spar just minutes earlier. 

“So...you can’t remember, can you?” Nero asked, soft and almost in defeat. 

“I’m sorry Nero.” Vergil whispered. “I wish I could have kept them.” Why did his heart ache? It seemed to hurt, just at the sound of Nero’s soft resignation that his father knew just as much about his mother as he did: nothing. 

“What happened, then?” Vergil stopped, closing his eyes. Telling Nero plainly what happened to him, to even utter the name of the demon who did this to him...he could not bid the words to pass his lips, not plainly. 

“Does a puppet need memory? Attachments? Hope even, that someone would save him from his own foolishness?” He asked. Nero didn’t respond, he didn’t expect one. “No, the master ripped them out of his puppet, to make him obey without question. Some memories remained, some too precious to be ripped away so easily, but the master weaponized them to make the puppet obey. What could not be taken out would be made to serve his will, in the end.” 

“Shit, that…” Nero frowned. “It sounds awful.” 

“I have no one to blame but myself for my mistakes, Nero. I was the one who jumped into the Underworld, who thought I had a hope of defeating him. I still wonder why my foolish twin kept hope alive for so long...when I had done nothing but cause him pain.” 

“Mom said that Dante was plagued by regret and guilt for what he didn’t do.” Nero said. “I guess we all have that.” Vergil presumed he was referring to the young man, Credo, who’s picture stood proudly on the hearth with a medal next to it. That was a story Nero had not told him yet, one he wouldn’t force out of him. 

“...don’t tell Dante this.” Vergil said softly. Nero glanced up. “When he decided to join me in the Underworld, to ‘keep an eye on me’ I felt...relieved. That I wouldn’t have to go deal with my own demons all alone. I dare not tell him this, he would run victory laps until he collapsed.” Nero chuckled at that.

“Sounds like something he’d do.” 

“Nero…” He pressed his lips into a thin line, trying to find a way to ask him about Cordelia. “When you first met Cassandra, did you...ever sense Cordelia?” 

“Cordelia?” Nero asked. “Uh, yeah. When I had the Devil Bringer, it would...like…” Nero paused, trying to figure out what to say. “Tingle if there was a demon nearby. When Mom visited me in Fortuna, I felt it but I didn’t know why until I noticed a shadow following Cassandra out of the corner of my eye. It moved so fast, I thought I was just imagining it.” 

_ ‘She hides if she feels like she’s in danger…’ _ Vergil mentally noted, watching Nero quietly. 

“I didn’t see her properly until I visited Devil May Cry one time. I noticed her clinging onto Dante’s leg and Dante encouraged her to come say hi to me. Then I...saw her.” Vergil raised an eyebrow at the pause. “She looked like a battered orphan.” A twinge of guilt struck his heart. He knew full well from Dante that Nero was orphaned at a very young age, bullied for his lack of parents and strange hair color. 

“...how awful.” He murmured. Nero raised an eyebrow. “Who would hurt a child?”

“I wish I knew too. So I could give them a good punch in the face.” He slammed his fist into his palm to emphasize that. Vergil chuckled. “Anyways, I guess I kinda just...clicked with her. She was just a scared kid. I know what that feels like.” 

“What should I do then?” Vergil asked, unable to stop the question before it came out. “I...Cordelia is someone who is deeply entwined with Cassandra. I cannot, in good conscience, pursue her without Cordelia at least able to tolerate my presence.” 

“So that’s why you ask…” Nero murmured, moving to stand in front of Vergil. Vergil felt like Nero was judging him (and he felt woefully unprepared for his judgement, a sensation that infuriated him in his inability to do anything about that). He stiffened up under the gaze of Nero’s blue eyes. “Why Cassandra?” 

“What is the meaning-”

“Answer the question.” Nero interrupted him. Vergil took a deep breath.

“She was willing to defend me against my own brother. She was willing to fight my demonic heart, when it ran unrestrained. Her loyalty knows no bounds and no restraint. But, from what I have observed, she does not hold back in what she believes is right...or if Dante does something idiotic. She has strength and restraint to give and to show in herself, something I admire...and admit that I am lacking in myself.” Vergil explained. Nero listened to him quietly, keeping his gaze steady on his father. 

“And you’re not going to leave her raise another fucking hell structure?”

“Never. Those days are behind me.” And even if he tried, he knew Cassandra would rip him a new one for it. Nero seemed to weigh his words, staring at him as he thought about it.

“Alright.” He said, the word bringing a sense of relief to Vergil. “If you want Cordelia to come next to you, you need to  _ let _ her come to you. When she comes near you, just be gentle and be patient. I don't know who hurt her before, but it was enough to where she distrusts people. That's really it. I'm at the point where I can carry her, which is pretty cool but she's also touch sensitive." Nero explained. “Don’t force yourself into her space.” 

“I see. Thank you, Nero.” Vergil nodded, looking back to the distant Fortuna, blanketed in the last of the setting sun’s light. “I believe we should return. Kyrie will worry about you if we do not return.” 

“She’ll worry about you too, you know?” Nero said, walking past him. “You’re family.” Vergil stared at him for a moment, one of the few times he was caught off guard, before feeling his lips curl into a smile. 

“Very well. Let us go.” 

* * *

Just...be with her. That was Nero’s advice. If Cassandra wasn’t around, try to bond with her. It was the exact same advice that Dante suggested to him in regards to Nero (but even Vergil could admit, the matters of the heart were a completely foriegn affair to the both of them). 

There was the matter of Cordelia’s fear of him. It wasn’t unwarranted, he knew his crimes too well, but a part of him, that human heart of his, feared never gaining Cordelia’s approval meant he would lose out on Cassandra. But forcing Cordelia to like him would be disastrous for everyone involved. 

This was one of the times his demonic heart cursed the virtue of patience. 

The rumble of thunder above made him shake. It was late at night in Devil May Cry, Cassandra and Dante out on a mission to slay a demon that made itself home in a warehouse. He heard a soft crying in the basement and glanced up. He slowly got up from his seat on the couch and went to the basement door.

“Cordelia?” He asked, gently knocking on the door. “May I come in?” Cassandra mentioned that it was a good idea to announce himself before entering Cordelia’s space. 

“K-Kano?” She whimpered softly. His demonic hearing easily picked up the sound of her terror. Vergil slowly opened the door and stepped down into the basement, looking around in the darkness. He could see the large speaker against the wall, a painting covered by a tarp, and the tiny shaking form of Cordelia curled up in the corner, a teddy bear in her arms as she hid under a blanket. He recognized the light blue ribbon around the bear’s neck, a gift to her from his son. He watched her carefully as he approached, not wanting to scare her any more than she already was. “I-It’s too l-loud…”

“I hold little fondness of storms myself.” He said, slowly lowering himself to the floor, a few feet away from Cordelia. “They bring back memories I wish I could forget.” 

“It reminds me of that day… so much loud noises… and so much hate…” She sniffled, hugging the teddy bear tighter. “I don't like that day…” Vergil frowned, his mind wandering to ways to soothe the terrified child, to pull her mind away from the day that caused her so much misery. 

“...perhaps…” Vergil murmured thoughtfully. He wouldn’t dare call himself a singer, so lulling Cordelia to sleep away the storm was out of the question. He knew she didn’t trust him enough to allow her to fall asleep in his (bloodstained) arms. But he did remember a time, as a young boy, his mother telling him and Dante stories to get their minds away from whatever brawl they had just come out of. “Would you like to hear a story?”

“A tale?” Cordelia asked softly, looking up at him with confused chocolate brown eyes. Vergil nodded. “What kind of tale?” 

“It’s about...a knight. And his maiden fair.” He began hesitantly. “From a long time ago…”

_ Lady Lucina panted as she stared down the opposing knight, garbed in a sickly green. She knew him as Verde Angelo, the champion of the cruel sorcerer-king Brennus. Just beyond him was said sorcerer-king, black eyes shining with cruel delight, as if he was humoring a sick joke that she did not know of. She shook her head, shaking wet golden bangs from her eyes. It was raining, the sky rumbling from the distant thunder.  _

_ “This is my last offer of mercy, Lady Lucina.” The sorcerer-king said. “Be my bride or face my champion.”  _

_ “I would rather die than being your bride!” She snarled. King Brennus laughed. _

_ “Go, Verde Angelo!” The knight held up his greatsword before charging at Lady Lucina. Lucina’s rapier met his greatsword, the two blades throwing sparks as they countered the other. Lucina frowned, the swordplay of Verde Angelo so achingly familiar to her. She parried another swing and pushed him back, sending Verde Angelo stumbling back. She reached out, grabbing the horns of his helmet and throwing it off him. _

_ She was met with a terrifying familiar face, eyes red and blank, snow-white hair tousled from the forced removal of his helmet. She gasped. _

_ “Sylvan!” King Brennus cackled at her realization. _

_ “Your beloved Sylvan is mine, Lady Lucina. His foolish crusade to end my reign ended with me acquiring the perfect champion.” He laughed. “Such a foolish youth, thinking he could slay someone of my power.” Sylvan just stared at her, as if being knocked down and forced to face her properly was nothing. She could feel fresh tears slide down her face, shaken by the fact she had been fighting the love she thought she lost. “Verde Angelo, finish this!” The knight quickly stood up, retaking his greatsword. _

_ “Sylvan, snap out of this!” Lucina cried out. Sylvan swung the greatsword. Lucina barely had a moment to step back, the edge of the blade slicing into her shoulder through her amor. She screamed out in pain, the sound seemingly shaking the knight as well. _

_ “...Lu...cina?” He whispered, a flicker of ice blue appearing in his eyes.  _

_ “Sylvan…” Lucina panted, holding her wounded shoulder. The sorcerer-king seemed to seethe at that, a hand raised up in preparation to cast a spell, to reassert his control over Sylvan. Lucina reached down, pulling out a dagger from her greaves and throwing it with skill at the heart of the sorcerer-king. It plunged deep and true, sending him backward as he was swiftly killed, undone by his own arrogance. The red in Sylvan’s eyes faded, revealing their beautiful blue, the blue that Lucina fell in love with. _

_ “Lucina…? Your shoulder...I-” He was cut off, Lucina happily kissing him, too happy to have him back to care about her wounds. She pulled back, grinning widely. _

_ “Let’s go home, Sylvan.” _

Vergil looked at Cordelia, who was watching him with wide eyes. As Vergil finished his story, Cordelia seemed to have forgotten about the storm. 

“Kano? Do you want Auntea to be the knight?”

“I’m sorry?” He asked, caught off guard by her question. She giggled. 

“When you were telling me the tale, Lady Lucina reminded me of Auntea. She was brave, just like her, and she didn’t care about what was bad for her. She knew what she wanted and that was the knight.” He lowered his head, daring not to admit he was outwitted by a ghostly six year old. Cordelia merely giggled again, taking his silence as a yes. “Papa and Neon taught me well!” 

“Undone by my brother and my own son…” Vergil murmured with a sigh. 

“Why is that bad, Kano?” She hummed curiously, shaking again from another thunder boom. He stared at her before inhaling through his nose to clear his thoughts.

“I will be honest with you Cordelia. I wanted to earn your trust, so you don’t feel like you have to run from me whenever I’m in the room. If I could not earn that, then I could not court Cassandra in good conscience.” Even as he spoke, he felt terrible for hiding this from her. He didn’t look at Cordelia from the shame, a feeling he was intimately familiar with. 

He soon felt something soft pushed into him, the teddy bear that she was holding a few minutes ago. Now she was snuggling up to the Nightmare plush that V, no, he made with a soft hum. “I’m getting braver day by day, Papa says that it just takes time and courage. Neon says that I've come a long way from where I started…I honestly didn't know that I was um… That… uh… impo….imporrrr.” She whined softly unable to say the word.

“Vital?” Vergil suggested. 

“Yeah! Vitale! Sowwy, I don't like how I speak with Rs… I don't like grring at people.”

“It’s fine.” Vergil smiled, holding the teddy bear. “You give me a gift that Nero gave you?” He asked. 

She nodded and played with the Nightmare plush a bit. “English isn't my main tongue… speaking human is hard.  **_Do you understand me?”_ ** She asked in demonic tongue, tilting her head curiously.

“ **_I do._ ** ” Vergil replied effortlessly. The demonic language was something he was quite familiar with, along with the languages his parents taught; Latin and English. 

She perked up excitedly. “ **_Demonic tongue was my first language, English is hard. I don't like the R sound, cause I always sound like I'm growling but I'm not. I’m not a strong devil and I don't want to start a fight..._ ** “ Vergil nodded. ” **_You’re in touch with your demonic side… I didn't want your demon to think I'm a threat… that’s why I hid… I don't like big scary demons… I’m easy prey._ ** ” A sense of intense guilt seared through his heart. The child had seen him, ever since his return, as a threat to hide from. He lowered his head, staring at the teddy bear in his hands. 

“ **_Ironically… Auntea wasn't the one to ask me to give you a chance… it was Papa._ ** ” 

“ **_Dante?_ ** ” She nodded. “ **_...why?_ ** ” 

**_“...Papa told me he went willingly after you… He wanted to make up for leaving you behind… I don't know all the details but I know enough that he gave you a chance… Missile says i'm pretty smart at picking up subtle clues about people’s pasts, even if they don't say it.”_ ** She fidgeted more.  **_“Before Papa left, he said that me and you are similar… we both don't know what being human is...”_ ** Vergil wasn’t sure what to say to that, the truth of it seeming to pierce him into his core. 

“ **_It is...a struggle, being human._ ** ” He admitted. “ **_There are times I fear that I can never understand it, that I’ve been a demon too long, that I cannot be human anymore._ ** ” He looked up to Cordelia. “ **_Do you believe there is hope for me?_ ** ”

“ **_Your demon didn't kill me when you first saw me._ ** ”

“ **_It knew you were connected to Cassandra, someone it respected._ ** ” He paused. “ **_How much can you recall about...Urizen?_ ** ” Even the name, the mere thought of his demonic heart running unchecked sickened him.

“He was sad, angry and lost… and held no true power… just an empty shell.” 

“ **_That is...not incorrect._ ** ” Vergil sighed. “ **_When Dante came into conflict with him for the final time...I remember Cassandra standing up to him, ready to fight despite being armed with merely demonic armor. It was that, her defiance, that left an impression on it when we were reunited._ ** ” He explained. 

“ **_Why call your other half an it?_ ** ” She hummed curiously. 

“ **_Is that a problem? I...it’s merely an extension of myself._ ** ” He said, equally as curious as she was.

“ **_Papa’s Devil calls me his pup while Papa calls me kiddo._ ** ” Vergil blinked at that.  **_“Both sides of Papa love me! Devil Papa even croons for me when I hug or groom him!”_ **

“ **_Crooning...I see. His demonic heart trusts you immensely. Demons only croon in very specific situations._ ** ” Vergil mused. As he remembered it, crooning was only seen in very few demons, particularly the ones that raised their offspring. Not every demon was that cutthroat to leave their young to their own devices, to learn to survive upon birth. He wasn’t sure if his own demon could even do that...or if he was brave enough to risk trying to find out without incurring his brother’s wrath. He had seen it only once...and would rather not see it again, if he could help it. “ **_But, if it makes you happy, I will refrain from referring to my demonic heart as an it._ ** ” 

“ **_You shouldn’t refer to yourself as an ‘it’ in the first place…_ ** ” Cordelia pointed out gently. Vergil winced. “ **_He wants to be loved and protected too… just like you, Kano._ ** ” 

“ **_...you are far wiser than you seem, Cordelia._ ** ” He murmured. 

“ **_I mean i'm technically the same age as Auntea, just stuck as a six year old._ ** ” Vergil blinked at that.

“ **_Oh._ ** ” He let out a sigh. “ **_It seems that, as your...Auntea says, I’ve been had._ ** ” Cordelia giggled at that.

“ **_I like being small, I get to be happy again._ ** ” She hummed.

“ **_I suppose being young again sounds nice._ ** ” Vergil mused. “ **_Sometimes, I yearn for the days of my youth, before everything was robbed from Dante and I…but I cannot change the past. I must keep moving forward...I must._ ** ” He glanced up. “ **_I believe the storm has passed, Cordelia._ ** ”

“ **_Sleepy…_ ** ” She yawned loudly and snuggled up to the plush.

“ **_May I escort you to bed, Cordelia? I do not believe you should sleep in the basement._ ** ”

“ **_I wanna wait for Papa..._ ** ” She said, rubbing her eyes and holding her Nightmare plush close.

“ **_Very well. Would you like me to escort you to the couch upstairs?_ ** ” Vergil asked. She nodded slowly. Vergil carefully stood up, watching her as she took the tail of his coat, her other hand holding the plush tightly. He began to make his way upstairs, being mindful of his stride. When they surfaced, Vergil glanced out of the rain-covered windows, noticing a light rain had replaced the fierce storm earlier. He sat down on the couch, watching as Cordelia climbed up onto it’s leather. She curled up next to him. Vergil leaned back, staring at the door. 

He didn’t know how much time passed since they surfaced from the basement...but perhaps...he could rest his eyes for a few minutes...

\---

“Fucking hell Dante, the moment we killed that one imp, you immediately turn around and stomp so fast I couldn’t catch up to you!” Cassandra panted, her chest burning up as she dashed up to Devil May Cry. She barely saw Dante open the door and rushed up after him with the last of her stamina. 

She couldn’t believe what she saw just past Dante’s frame.

Vergil, fast asleep, with little Cordelia curled up next to him, the tail of his Sin Devil Trigger loosely curled around her waist. The Nightmare doll Cordelia was so fond of seemed to have fallen between the two. Dante seemed to relax, just a little, at the sight.

“That’s. So. Cute.” Cassandra murmured. Dante chuckled and walked forward, fully intending to sit next to his brother and Cordelia, but Cassandra grabbed his shoulder. “Oh no, you’re taking a shower first before you sleep. Go on!” She hissed, pushing his shoulder. 

“Caaasss-”

“Don’t Cass me, you are filthy!” She whispered harshly. “Go bath, now!”

“Ok ok!” Dante held up his hands. He walked over, gently picked up the doll, and placed it in Cordelia's arms. Smiling at the sight of her clinging onto the plush, he went upstairs to shower. Cassandra looked to the two, still fast asleep on the couch, before following him upstairs to use her own shower and get ready for bed, happy that Cordelia was comfortable enough around Vergil to be so vulnerable next to him. 

That was progress, for both of them. And she liked progress.


End file.
